The Beast Within (13 page)

His blue eyes moved from side to side and his normal grandiose attitude was replaced with anxiety. Sweat formed on his brow before Christof even directed a question toward him.

Seeing that his witness was not in the best state, Christof immediately dove into his questions. “Randolph, you came across Larentia and Connor a few nights before the incident in the forest, did you not?”

Randolph nodded his assent, his eyes huge as saucers.

“In your own words, how would you describe their relationship towards one another?”

Randolph cleared his throat. “They seemed comfortable with one another. As if they were good friends, or perhaps more than friends. I knew Larentia was aware of the four Laws, so I didn’t question her intent with the human.”

“Having seen them together, would you say the idea that Larentia Abelardus turned Connor Moore was a very real possibility?”

Grabbing his own collar, he tilted his head back, giving his neck a reprieve from the chaffing dress shirt. “Yes, I believe that is a possibility.”

“Lastly, would you describe the course of the night in the forest for us?”

Randolph proceeded to tell the room the happenings of the night in question just as Faust had. “Faust, myself, and three other Family members were scheduled to meet Larentia and Lupus in the Catskill Forest Preserve to discuss a property claim. They didn’t want to talk. As soon as we got there, they started yelling, and soon after, they attacked us. It should have been easy for us to outmatch them, but Lupus’ rage was more than we could handle. My family and I are not fighters; we’re peaceful. We tried to stop them, begged them to show mercy. Instead, Connor appeared. He killed our Family member and tore out Faust’s eyes. They held me down and forced me to watch. It was only by a miracle that Faust and I escaped with our lives.”

Randolph stopped, his eyes watering as he tried to fight back his fake tears.

Connor wondered if the Council picked up on the uncanny similarity of Faust’s and Randolph’s story. He had no way of knowing, trying to read their expressions was pointless.

“Thank you, Randolph,” Christof said. “Well, there you have it. In the words of two men that were there that night, you have the accurate account of the happenings in the Catskill Forest. I’m not sure what is left to discuss. Larentis and Lupus have already admitted their hand in killing their fellow Elites and also in turning Mr. Moore. I beg of you to tell me what they can say that could prove them innocent?”

He finished his argument. “I want to thank the Council for hearing the truth, and I, along with the rest of the room, am confident that you will find justice and punish the guilty.”

Thema stood up. “Thank you, Christof.”

Christof gave a bow as he backed away. A chair was brought for him and he sat beside Randolph and Faust, waiting to hear his opponent’s rebuttal.

“Morrigan, you may begin,” Thema informed her before taking a seat.

Morrigan stood up and walked toward the Council as calm as ever. Her matter of fact attitude served her well. “Esteemed Council, ladies and gentlemen, I would ask you all to keep a question in mind before I begin with my first witness to relate the events that took place that night and what occurred with Mr. Moore.”

She paused now, looking each Council member in the eye. “The Law was created to protect our kind from ourselves. Throughout history, when the Law was broken, or was threatened to be broken, the culprits were dealt with justly, and more often than not, executed. I would ask that you all consider in your own hearts whether the actions taken by the accused did more to
keep
the Law or
break
it.”

Morrigan turned now and looked at Laren. “If you would, Larentia, please tell us of your relationship with Mr. Moore, why you were in the Catskills to begin with, and tell us of the events that occurred.”

Laren stood tall and slender. Her hands fell to her side and her voice was firm and honest. “My brother and I were sent by our Family to meet with Randolph and Faust to try to workout a peaceful solution to the land dispute in upstate New York. They didn’t show up to the meeting and refused any attempt at negotiation. During this time, I met Connor. I’m not ashamed to say that I was attracted to him, but it was more than just physical. I could tell he was different. As I got to know him, I in no way betrayed the Law. I never spoke about the Elites or the Five Families.”

She paused and took a deep breath. “Lu and I received a message from Faust asking us to meet at the abandoned Catskill Forest ranger station to finally come to a solution. When we got there, we were ambushed. It’s only because of Connor’s actions that my brother and I are alive today. I’m not sure how he was able to kill an Elite, being a half-blood. All I know is that he saved us, and as I saw him there, dying on the floor, I knew the right thing to do was to turn him. I believe my actions were not only necessary for our survival, but also to keep our Law from being broken further. I admit that I turned a half-blood and I stand by my action, willing to accept the consequences.”

Morrigan gave her a nod of approval. “Thank you, Larentia. Lupus, will you please relate the happenings of that night and Mr. Moore’s actions?”

Lu stood from his seat, arms moving, adding strength and support to his words. He led his opening statement with a phrase that shocked the entire room, Council members included. “I, unlike my sister, never saw any value or anything special in Connor.”

Connor exchanged surprised looks with Laren as Lu continued. “Everything my sister said is accurate. If it wasn’t for Connor Moore, both my sister and I would be dead right now and the truth would be kept from your knowledge. I don’t know if it was fate that brought Connor into our lives or something else, all I know is that when we needed him, he was there.”

Morrigan nodded to Lu to take a seat. “Before I introduce Mr. Moore, I would like to tell you a little bit about him.” She looked over at Connor and motioned him to rise. “Connor Moore was raised outside of New York in a small suburban neighborhood. He was nurtured by his loving mother, Rebecca Moore, and never knew who or what his father was. Connor, how old are you?”

“Eighteen,” was his simple response. His palms were sweaty and he did his best to clear his voice from any hesitation, although there was no denying he was nervous.

“And what is your father’s name?”

“I don’t know. Like you said, I never knew him.”

“You all know the prophecy of the Judge that will save us from the darkness. Many of us thought that Caderyn, his father, was this Judge. Caderyn is not the final heir, there is another. Connor Moore is the last, and a direct descendent of the ancient bloodline of Judges. I would submit to the Council that he is the savior that will deliver us in our greatest hour of need, fulfilling the prophecy.”

The room erupted into chaos. Shouts from the audience were deafening. Connor was able to make out a few angry yells.

“That is blasphemy!”

“No half-blood could ever be our savior!”

“He is the savior!”

“This has nothing to do with the trial!” Christof shouted, outraged. “That issue belongs to a separate trial! I move to strike the current statement from the record books!”

The Council were the only quiet ones in the room. They sat looking at each other with furrowed eyebrows and vexed expressions. Finally, Adolpho took control. Rising from his chair, he extended a palm, quieting the audience. He stood until there was silence, daring anyone to make a sound.

“The Council will take the rest of the afternoon to decide if Morrigan’s claim, that Connor Moore is the savior of the prophecy, will be considered as part of this case. In the meantime, no one having part in this deliberation will leave the grounds and we will reconvene tomorrow morning. That is all.”

As all five members of the Council now stood to leave, the room was once again obliged to kneel and avert their eyes. Connor’s heart was racing a hundred miles an hour. Morrigan hadn’t given him the slightest inclination that she planned to reveal him as this so-called savior today. He didn’t know whether to feel betrayed or thankful, misinformed or shielded.

The next few moments passed in silence as the Council left the Chamber. As soon as the doors closed behind them, the room was allowed to get up. First, Faust, Christof, and Randolph were allowed to exit. Christof shot Morrigan a dirty look while he led Faust out by the arm, and Randolph, nervous as ever, his eyes darting to and fro, bringing up the rear.

Morrigan gave them a wide berth. Connor, Laren, and Lu followed in her wake. If Connor thought that the audience was scrutinized him on the way in, he didn’t know how to describe what he felt now. The brightly colored eyes of every single Elite were on him. It felt as thought he was being examined with a microscope. Some of the looks he received were of admiration, some of curiosity, most of disdain.

Connor let out a pent-up sigh of relief as soon as he was out of the room. “What was all of that about my father? Why didn’t you tell me you were going to put me on display to the entire room as a savior?”

Morrigan simply turned to him, touched her finger to her lips and then to her ears, motioning that they were within hearing distance of more than a few Elites. Connor nodded, willing to wait, but at the same time, eager for answers.

Laren and Lu followed. Neither of them said a word, instead nodding greetings to various passersby as they made their way through the labyrinth of halls.

Connor soon realized they weren’t headed back to his room, instead, Morrigan led them to a mid-size banquet room with plenty of open space. There was only one large table and it was stacked with enough food to feed an army. Closing the doors behind them, Morrigan was satisfied they would be able to talk freely.

As Lu headed straight for the food, Connor looked at Morrigan and Laren with questioning eyes.

“I’m sorry, Connor, we had limited time before the Council was called. Maybe I should have told you about your father, revealing you as the answer to the prophecy was a spur of the moment call. Christof was presenting a solid argument and I needed something to throw him off. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Of course, I just want some answers about my father. What happened to him? Is he alive?”

Laren answered his last question first. “Yes, he is. Your father was a great warrior and years ago rose up as a Judge when our race needed him. He brought unity to our people and calmed a storm that would have soon consumed us. The facts are told differently in the human world. You would know the disaster your father saved the world from as the Cuban Missile Crisis. He was a hero, well-loved and respected by everyone.” Laren hesitated, unsure how to relate the rest of the story.

“Until he fell in love with a human and threw it all away,” Lu said in between bites, a ham bone in one hand and a large bread roll in the other.

Morrigan shot him an intimidating stare.

“What? That’s what happened.”

Laren shook her head at her brother. “Your father, Caderyn, fell in love with your mother. He knew the Law forbade it, he did it anyway. He was able to hide this from the Council until you were born and then the cat was out of the bag.”

Morrigan took up the story. “Your father left you because he loved both you and your mother. Rather than see either one of you hurt, he revealed his actions to the Council. As you can imagine, the meeting did not go well. Because of his years of faithful service and his honesty, your life was spared. He was still punished, however. He was sentenced to live out his remaining days in a secret Elite penitentiary.”

“All these years I thought he abandoned us.” Connor was dumbfounded. He didn’t know what to feel, let alone what to say. He was always under the impression his father didn’t want him, not that his father loved him so much he sealed his own fate to save him.

Laren wrapped her arms around Connor. She could only imagine what he was feeling right now. He hugged her back. Morrigan took her cue to leave and joined Lu at the table.

“I can’t even begin to understand what you’re going through right now. I just want you to know that I’m here for you, Connor, with whatever you need.”

“I know you are, thank you.”

They separated and joined Lu and Morrigan at the table. He was starving, and rather than sit and dwell on the newly discovered information that was bound to lead to more questions, he ushered these thoughts out of his mind, took off his jacket, loosened his tie, and threw himself into one of his favorite pastimes—eating.

The feast provided for them was amazing. It was like Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners rolled into one. Turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes; vegetables, salads, dinner rolls, and cranberry sauce were all present and accounted for. The conversation soon turned back to the trial and speculations on what would happen next.

“The Council has to rule in favor of accepting Connor as a Judge, Morrigan. He plays too much of a role in everything that happened to deny it,” Laren optimistically pointed out.

“I certainly hope so. The fact that Connor was able to kill an Elite and handicap another certainly works in our favor. I can’t remember the last time a human was able to do that.”

“I agree,” Lu chimed in. “I think they’ll consider Connor’s claim as a Judge. And convicting Faust and Randolph should be easy, especially with the other half-blood’s statement.”

“The other half-blood?” Connor’s face dawned with recognition. “Katie! Katie’s here?”

“After her run-in with Faust, Katie was turned. The Council couldn’t allow her to simply go on her way, and instead opted to bring her here for the trial, anticipating she would have vital information,” Morrigan said.

“Well, then how come she wasn’t at the trial today? Why didn’t you call on her testimony?”

“I will, if it’s necessary. What’s more important is that the Council sees you for who you really are.”

Connor ignored the last part. “Is she okay? Can I see her? Where is she?”

“She’s fine, Connor. Katie is here in the castle. You are not permitted to see her yet.”

Connor bit his tongue. He wanted to say more even though he knew it would be pointless. He also stole a glance at Laren, who was toying with her peas aimlessly. He wondered if his concern for Katie bothered her.

The rest of the meal went well. At least it did for Connor. There were no more epic revelations of his past or amazing disclosures about his future. After everyone ate as much as they could, Connor wanted to know more about the perks of being an Elite.

“I don’t feel very different. I mean, I feel great, just not superhuman great. Is that normal?”

Lu laughed. “Yeah, it’s not like you’re going to start flying around like Superman. You’re still the same person. You just have an—an overdrive mode now.”

“What Lu is trying to say,” Laren cut in, “is that you have to tap into that inner drive that’s there for you now.”

“How do I do that?”

“By concentrating,” Morrigan explained. “Like anything else, it’s a muscle that has to be exercised. Here.” She grabbed the ham bone from Lu’s mouth, wiped it on her napkin and handed it to Connor. “Break it.”